Report: Suspected N.C. college shooter apparently confessed
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A man accused of killing a gay community college worker in North Carolina says the slain victim molested his relative and doing prison time is "the easy part."
Kenneth Stancil made the unsolicited comments Tuesday when he appeared before Judge Christopher Kelly in Daytona Beach, Fla. The judge warned Stancil he had the right to remain silent.
Stancil is accused of killing Ron Lane, the print shop director at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina, on Monday. Police have said they are investigating the shooting as a possible hate crime.
Stancil apparently confessed to the crime in an obscenity-laden statement in court, saying that he "ridded one last child molester from the Earth," reported CBS affiliate WRAL.
He reportedly accused Lane of "messing with" a family member, reports the station.
A Wayne County sheriff's office clerk says Stancil did not file anything about a relative being molested or any other complaint with the sheriff's office or Goldsboro police.
Stancil was denied bond and assigned a public defender.
Investigators said Stancil carried a long gun into the Wayne Learning Center at the college in Goldsboro, about 50 miles southeast of Raleigh, shortly before 8 a.m. Monday. He allegedly went to the third-floor print shop and fired a single shot, killing shop director Lane, 44.
College officials said Stancil was a previous work-study student who reported to Lane. He was dismissed from the federally funded program at the beginning of March because of too many absences, college president Kay Albertson told WRAL.
Investigators have not discussed a motive in the shooting and are looking into the possibility that it was a hate crime, reports the station. They would not elaborate, but confirmed Lane's sexual orientation to the station and said they're investigating Stancil's possible affiliation with white supremacist groups or gangs.
"I can say with confidence that Mr. Stancil had a calculated plan, and he carried out that plan," Goldsboro police Sgt. Jeremy Sutton said during a Tuesday morning news conference.
Stancil was arrested at about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday in Daytona Beach, Fla. after a manhunt. Deputies from the Volusia County Beach Patrol approached him for violating an ordinance that prohibits sleeping on the beach.
He's charged with open murder in the slaying.